


Additions

by Ashlanielle



Series: Holding On and Letting Go [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Family, Gen, Pregnancy, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2015-05-06
Packaged: 2018-03-29 09:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3890602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashlanielle/pseuds/Ashlanielle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reality hits everyone when Martha suddenly goes into labor. Fears are revealed and questions are asked as everyone awaits the little one's arrival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Additions

**Author's Note:**

> Lord knows these people need some fluff, so here it is. If you haven't read "Falling In Love At a Coffee Shop," you probably won't follow it. Enjoy!!!
> 
> Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel)--Billy Joel

Ten minutes. Ten minutes of reprieve was all Martha was able to enjoy before pain seized her abdomen. She had to intently focus all of her attention on her breathing because with each new wave, the pain began to intensify. Despite the growing discomfort, she remained silent, only wincing and inhaling sharply with each contraction. She wasn’t ready for this. It was still early, only thirty-six weeks. But it wasn’t just the fact the baby was early—it was also that the reality of becoming a mother was hitting her full force, and quite literally at that. 

It was Sunday morning, or what Tony called Pancake Day, and she, Mickey, and John were dispersed throughout the living room while Rose was upstairs scrubbing a syrup covered Tony clean and giving him a thorough tongue lashing for his disobedience. During breakfast, Rose had cut Tony off at three pancakes, which he didn’t take to kindly. He’d waited till the adults were distracted, and quietly snuck into the kitchen. When he tried to take the syrup bottle out of the cabinet, he accidently dropped it, causing it to hit the plate of leftover pancakes and splatter, not only himself, but also the floor with its sticky contents. It had been Rose who'd rushed into the kitchen, and she immediately gave him “The Look." Without preamble, the irate blonde marched him up the stairs as Tony threw a verbal tantrum. It was that course of events that led to Martha being left alone with Mickey and John, both of whom were complaining about the various wedding “tortures” that they were being forced to endure. 

Ten minutes rapidly turned into eight, and it was getting harder for Martha to hide her pain. She dug her nails into the couch as another contraction claimed her. Mickey and John continued to chatter on, this time about something or another, but Martha could not have cared less. Just the sound of their voices was like nails on a blackboard, infuriating her with each grating syllable.

_Would you two gits stop your nattering? Just shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!!!_

Apparently the last “shut up” wasn’t just shouted in her head, because the two men ceased speaking and jerked their heads up, looking at her quizzically. 

Mickey watched worriedly as his wife's body tensed and she bit her bottom lip. 

“Y'okay, babe?” his questioned, his voice cracking as he nervously waited for her answer. He hoped—no, prayed—that it wasn’t what he thought. 

Her body relaxed as the pain passed and she quickly nodded her head. 

“Yeah…’m fine,” she said breathily, a sheen of perspiration appearing on her forehead. 

“Y-you…you sure?” John croaked, just as eager as Mickey to have his suspicions squelched. 

“I said I’m fine, didn't I?” she snapped.

It was just then that a pouting Tony plodded into the living room, Rose on his heels. She immediately registered Mickey and John’s panicked expressions and worriedly followed their gaze to Martha, instantly realizing what was transpiring. 

“Oh my God—you’re in labour!” she shrieked, her excitement mixed with concern as she saw Martha’s obvious pain. Suddenly, she whirled around and glared at her brother and fiancée. “An' you two are just sittin’ there like idiots?”

The two men appeared to be physically attached to their seats seeing as neither of them made any attempt to move. 

“Oi! Snap out of it!” she shouted, swatting their heads and pulling each of them up by their shirtsleeves. “John, take Tony and get the car. Mickey, help Martha get _to_ the car. I’ll get her bag.”

Still in shock, Mickey and John continued to stand still, wide-eyed and terrified.

Martha couldn’t take it any the pain or their ineptitude any longer.

“Move it!” she shouted, and the men finally snapped into action.

***

Martha squeezed Rose’s hand as another contraction came, the strongest one yet.

“Keep breathin'…almost over…,” Rose gently coached.

Martha exhaled and laid her head back on the pillow. 

“Is it too late for a surrogate?” she joked weakly. 

“Might be a bit late in the game for that,” Rose said, grinning at her and taking a cool rag to her forehead.

A few silent tears escaped Martha’s eyes, rolling down her temples.

“Hey, now...what’s wrong, Mar?” Rose asked worriedly, sensing the tears had nothing to do with her current physical pain.

The mother-to-be turned and looked at her, giving a wet chuckle. 

“You haven’t called me Mar in a long time.”

“I like to save it for special occasions," Rose grinned, "Besides, you haven’t called me Ro in just as long. But you’re avoiding the subject…what’s bothering you? Y’know, despite the obvious.”

Martha’s tears began to gain strength. “I can’t do this…,” she choked. 

“Can’t do what, love? Give birth? ‘Course ya can,” Rose reassured, stroking her hand affectionately.

“No," Martha shook her head fiercely, "I mean I can’t be a mum. I don’t know the first thing ‘bout it. Ya met my mum, she's not exactly a shining example. We _never_ got along, argued _all_ the time. I mean, Jackie was the closest thing I had to a real mum, but I’m nothin' like her! I d-don’t kn-now…,” Martha trailed off as she began to sob, her tears a mixture of exhaustion and genuine fear.

“Hey, hey…s’okay. Calm down, love,” Rose soothed. She stroked Martha’s damp hair. “Now ya listen to me—you will be a _fantastic_ mum! No question.”

Another protest began to form on Martha's lips, but Rose halted it. 

“No! Don’t argue with me. All these years you’ve helped raise Tony. Late nights when we couldn’t get ‘im to go to sleep, nightmares, homework, play dates—you name it, you’ve done it. I couldn’t have done any of it without you. You’ve helped him become the amazing little boy he is. You an' Mick have so much love to give, and this baby…it’s the luckiest baby in the world because it has you two as parents.”

“Thank you for that,” Martha said softly, squeezing her hand.

“I’m your sister. It’s what I do. An' y'know I wouldn't lie!”

Despite the pain and exhaustion, Martha gave her sister a brilliant smile. 

“I love you, Ro...y'know that?”

Rose grinned at the return of the beloved moniker. “Love you too, Mar.”

***

The hours passed as the small family waited for their newest arrival. Within the confines of the waiting area, Rose quietly sat in one of the chairs reading a well-worn copy of _Mansfield Park_ , her legs folded underneath her. John and Tony sat across from her on the floor, coloring silently. The comfortable silence was unceremoniously broken as Tony piped up.

“John?” 

“Yeah?” John replied absentmindedly, continuing to focus on the Batman he was currently coloring.

“Can I ask ya somethin’?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Aunt Martha’s...she's havin’ a baby, yeah?”

“Yep,” John continued, still only half present.

“How…how did it get there?” 

John’s crayon broke as Tony finished his question, and his eyes flitted upwards and locked with the little boy’s. Also taken aback, Rose’s head snapped up from her book and she stared intently at them.

John took a hard swallow and quickly turned his gaze toward the ground, boring holes into the half colored page.

“That's, um…sorry, what?”

“The baby in her tummy…how’d it _get_ there?” Tony asked innocently, his chocolate eyes curious and questioning.

Incredibly stumped as to his next reply, John whirled his head around to his fiancée, panic etched onto the entire surface of his face. 

Rose stifled her giggle, putting on a serious face that still couldn’t hide the mirth in her eyes.

“Yeah, John…," she cleared her throat of the laugh that had bubbled forth, "How _did_ that happen?” she asked with a smile, her tongue peeking through her teeth. 

That smile usually earned her an amazing snog, but today all it earned her was a glare and slight scowl. However, Rose didn’t mind the change; the scenario at hand was too good. John turned back to the inquiring little boy and gulped again.

“Um…weelll…w-when a man and a woman, uh…see…um…,” John fumbled miserably, randomly gesturing with his hands as he did so.

Tony cocked his head to the side, clearly confused, and Rose tried to hide her laughter behind her book, several snorts escaping despite her efforts.

Abandoning his attempts, John cleared his throat. “Maybe you should ask Uncle Mickey…”

A beat passed before Tony spoke again. “So...are you an' Rose gonna have a baby, too?”

At _that_ question, Rose was on her feet in an instant, panic now written on her face.

“Ice cream," she croaked out randomly. "I think now is a _really_ good time for ice cream. What d'ya say, Tony?”

Without hesitation, Tony quickly got to his feet and eagerly grabbed her hand, his question now forgotten. 

***

Rose and Tony had been gone for well over twenty minutes, but John didn’t notice, seeing as he'd been in a shock induced stupor the entire time. His head was rested against the wall and his arms folded across his chest while Tony’s last question continued to turn over and over in his mind. Him...Rose...and a baby? Were they going to have a baby? John felt like someone had literally rattled his brain. Now all he had was one word stuck on repeat—“baby.”

John would be lying if he said that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind a time or two. But, he’d never actually stopped and pondered on the idea. In fact, the two of them hadn’t even talked about it—strange, considering they had talked about virtually everything else. 

_Does she want a baby?_

It hadn’t escaped his notice that Rose looked absolutely panicked at Tony’s question and quickly left the room under the incredibly transparent pretense of getting ice cream.

_So...that little freak out...does that mean she doesn’t want kids?_

John’s frantic rush of thoughts and feelings came to a halt as Mickey entered the waiting room and took a seat across from him. The father-to-be looked completely zoned out and more than a bit haggard.

“Everything alright?” John asked.

“Yeah. I thought I’d just give the nurse a minute to check on Martha. Don't wanna get in her way,” he answered, but John suspected that he really just needed a moment to regain his composure. His stress was clearly evident.

The two men sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Mickey spoke up.

“Why are you sittin’ on the floor?”

“Um…well, Tony asked me where babies came from…sorta found it hard to stand after that question.”

Mickey snorted in amusement. “What’d ya tell ‘im?”

John tugged on his ear. “I told him to ask you,” he replied with a sheepish smile.

“Oh great! Thanks for _that_ one, mate!”

Another beat passed.

“Did you and Martha _want_ kids?” 

“Yeah…I mean sorta.”

John quirked a brow in confusion. “How do you ‘sorta’ want kids?”

“Well, we didn’t talk a lot about it. I mean, we got married when we were still teenagers, and what teenagers talk about havin’ kids? Then a year later, everythin' turned on its head and…BAM…we suddenly _had_ to raise a baby. We didn't talk 'bout it much for a while, but Tony made us think about it…and the more we thought about it, the more we wanted one.”

John nodded his head slowly, taking in Mickey’s answer.

Mickey could see the wheels turning in his friend's mind.

“Why do ya ask?”

Before John could reply, Rose and Tony returned, the little boy eagerly shoving a heaping spoonful of chocolate into his mouth. Seeing the shy and somewhat awkward look that passed between the engaged couple, Mickey suddenly understood what had provoked John’s question. 

***

They had been at the hospital for over seven hours, and everyone's energy was starting to dwindle. Tony quickly became restless and literally pleaded on bended knees to go to “Grandpa and Grandma’s,” to which Wilf and Harriet happily agreed. After chatting for a while, Wilf and Harriet left with Tony, and Rose snuggled up next to John, still wearing her oversized hoodie from earlier that morning. Mickey was still sitting with Martha, and she couldn’t help but start to doze off. 

“Rose?” 

“Hmm?” she replied sleepily, keeping her head on his shoulder. 

“You awake?” 

“Am now…,” she sighed, sitting up and looking at him.

“Sorry,” he apologized, tugging on his ear.

Seeing his odd behavior, Rose could tell he was nervous, and even though she had a strong suspicion as to why, she was still worried.

“What’s wrong, babe?” she asked softly, lacing her fingers with his.

He averted his eyes before he spoke. 

“D-Do…,” he cleared his throat, “do you want…kids?”

Every muscle in Rose's body froze. She had been afraid of that question ever since Tony had asked it earlier. No, that wasn’t true—she’d been afraid of it ever since she and John became a couple. Rose knew her answer, was certain of it from the beginning. What terrified her was that she wasn’t certain of _his_ answer.  
  
She took her other hand and began nervously tracing random shapes over his. John still wouldn’t look at her, which further concerned her. Rose couldn’t say her answer before she knew his. If he didn’t feel the same way, it would break her heart.

“Do…do you?” she asked, her voice hovering just above a whisper.

He finally looked up at her, slightly irritated with her for turning the question back on him.

“Rose…,” he started but was cut off as Mickey came out of Martha’s room and called to her. 

“Hey Rose?”

Reluctantly, she turned toward Mickey. “Yeah?”

“Martha wants you…the doctor says she’s almost ready to push.”

“M’kay…I’m coming,” she said and turned back to look at John. She leaned forward and kissed him before quickly rising and going into Martha’s room. 

Frustrated with the interruption and lack of answer, John scrubbed his face and sighed as he watched her walk away.

***

Forty-five minutes later, John was still waiting outside the room and mulling over what Rose would’ve said, upset that he didn’t just come out and tell her what _he_ wanted.

“Mr. Noble?” the nurse suddenly called out.

Torn from his musings, he lifted his head up. “Yes?” he said with a small, tired smile.

“They’re asking for you,” she said as she returned his smile.

He quickly rose from his seat and entered the room. What he saw instantly brought a rush of warmth to his heart. Martha was reclining on the bed, her exhaustion evident but beaming nonetheless at the small bundle cradled in her arms. Mickey was sitting directly by her side, his smile rivaling hers. Rose was standing on the other side of Martha, watching them with misted eyes. At the sound of his entrance, the three of them looked up. His face instantly broke out into a brilliant smile as he saw the baby in Martha’s arms.

“John, meet Benjamin Tyler Smith,” Mickey said proudly. 

Martha lifted the baby slightly towards Rose. She gently took the now squirming bundle into her arms, stroking his face reverently with her finger. She walked over to John, the baby still in her arms.

“Hello, Benjamin,” he said, reaching for the little fist that had poked its way out of the blanket. He was completely overjoyed at the new arrival to the family.

She smiled brilliantly at him and then turned her gaze back to the baby, placing a soft kiss to his forehead. John looked at the little one in Rose’s arms. It was a picture of perfection. Seeing the love in Rose’s eyes as she held the baby, he had no doubt about her answer and he had never been more certain of his. Rose gently handed the baby to Mickey and walked back over to John. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her tightly. As Martha and Mickey continued to fawn over their little boy, John pulled Rose closer and kissed the top of her head. She looked up at him and smiled at him, that familiar touch of pink poking through her teeth. This time she received her usual reward. When they separated, John continued to stare at her, his eyes overflowing with emotion. There was so much he wanted to say to her in that moment, but he settled for one word—just one word.

“Yes.”

For several beats, Rose held his gaze. Her brow furrowed slightly in confusion, but then her eyes brightened with understanding, and her smile widened beyond belief. 

“Yeah?” she said softly, her voice full of joy and hope.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding his head eagerly and beaming at her.

Rose’s eyes shined with ready tears. Smiling as never before, she wrapped her hand around the back of his head and pulled him down for a reward of his own.

 

 


End file.
